Security systems are generally known. Such systems are typically used to protect people and/or assets within a secured area. The secured area is often surrounded by a physical barrier (e.g., walls, fence, etc.) with one or more portals (e.g., windows, doors, etc.) to allow the entrance and/or egress of authorized persons and materials.
Within the secured area may be a number of sensors coupled to an alarm panel. The sensors may be coupled to each of the doors and/or windows in order to detect intruders as they pass through or may operate in a more general sense to detect motion within portions of the secured area.
The alarm panel may detect an intruder via activation of one of the sensors and sound a local alarm. Alternatively, the alarm panel may send an alarm message to a central monitoring station.
In some cases, the sensors may include one or more video cameras. The video cameras may be motion activated or record video from the secured area into one or more video files.
While such systems work well, it is not always possible for an owner to be available to respond to alarms. Accordingly, a need exists for better methods of accessing from remote locations the information generated by operation of the security system.